The book, Demystifying the Google Algorithm search engine optimization (SEO) by the author Thomas Gordon Barker emphasizes the importance of high-quality, original content that provides value to readers in search engine optimization (SEO).
Begins with a story about the author meeting a professor who claimed that zero is not a number. The author then goes on to explain that just as the answer to whether zero is a number is not always obvious, neither is SEO. The book is dedicated to those who did not experience the beginning of the commercial web and aims to provide information and techniques for optimizing a website for search engines. The book also covers topics such as keyword research, writing for search engines, Google’s algorithms, mobile-first indexing, local search, and website speed. The author hopes to inspire readers to learn SEO and to gain the confidence to reach their target audience and appear on the first page of Google search results.
In the first chapter of this book, the author shares their extensive experience in the tech industry, where they have worked as a freelancer and owned their own company for the past 25 years. They have worked with several well-known brands such as Superga Shoes, Kappa Italian Sportswear, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, and Dr. Oetker.
The author’s goal in writing this book is to provide readers with valuable insights into what Google looks for in websites today and how they can leverage that knowledge to improve their search rankings. The book covers critical HTML tags and expressions and teaches readers how to find keywords from their online competitors. By understanding Google’s objectives and creating content that is fresh, trustworthy, and useful to visitors, readers can achieve a highly ranked, Google-friendly website.
It highlights the negative impact of keyword stuffing and Black Hat SEO techniques on website rankings, and the importance of understanding Google’s algorithm and user intent to optimize a website. The author suggests writing website content that provides a clear idea of the company’s history, production process, and future trends, and utilizing the most essential keywords across different pages, including the homepage. The chapter also emphasizes the importance of using correct elements and tags, creating unique meta titles and descriptions, keyword density, and analyzing the keywords used by competitors to improve search engine rankings. It suggests producing SEO reports that can help track the performance of your website and your SEO efforts. The author highlights the significance of good-quality content and visitor trust of a website and how it is not just about using tools to place your website in front of your audience. The chapter also provides guidance on writing headings with relevant H tags and other important tags for better SEO.
Writing for search engines
You know that if Google likes your website people will also like it because that is what Google tells you.
As an example, if you owned a restaurant and invited a critic to preview your menu and taste the food on opening night, would you not hope to read a good review about it? Just like creating a website and inviting Google to index and rank it. Would you not hope and expect to see your page high up on the Google index?
If your website appeared on page three, four or worse of Google’s SERPs, you’d know how they felt about it. Google uses over 200 ranking factors, including technical factors as well as including the content on your website. If it’s not good enough for Google, it is not good enough for people that’s what Google tells you.